---
title: Is an Agricultural Mechanization degree worth the debt?
cip: 0102
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is an Agricultural Mechanization degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **11** colleges (11 of 11 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $51,141 ($49,436 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $19,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.38× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $44,614–$54,468 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $42,853 | $12,500 | 0.25× | 9 | 9/9 |
| Bachelor's | $51,141 | $19,500 | 0.38× | 11 | 11/11 |

## Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Iowa State University (IA) | $57,856 | $19,500 |
| Sam Houston State University (TX) | $57,352 | — |
| Texas A&M University-College Station (TX) | $54,782 | — |
| South Dakota State University (SD) | $54,155 | $22,000 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus (IN) | $51,820 | $19,727 |
| Kansas State University (KS) | $51,141 | $19,344 |
| University of Missouri-Columbia (MO) | $48,353 | $19,334 |
| North Dakota State University-Main Campus (ND) | $44,857 | — |
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln (NE) | $44,371 | $23,500 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh (NC) | $43,530 | — |
| University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (PR) | $24,777 | $9,000 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/agricultural-mechanization.jsonld` · `/education/fields/agricultural-mechanization.json`